Elysia Side Story: The Unfulfilled Promise

"Yes, the Honkai Beasts that appeared this time had already been wiped out. The mission process? Of course, it was incredibly easy~" Elysia said brightly to the person on the other end of the communicator.

"Elysia... forget it. Have Feng write this mission report instead." The person on the other end sounded helplessly exasperated.

Elysia looked toward Zhu Yufeng, who was retrieving the Honkai Beast core from the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, and waved at him. "Feng~ They said you should write this mission report~"

After retrieving the Honkai Beast core, Zhu Yufeng smiled at Elysia. "Got it."

Then he lowered his head to look at the container holding the Honkai Beast core in his hands. This should be the first time I've gone on a mission with just Elysia... I hope I didn't hold her back too much... Sigh... I still don't dare look her in the eyes...

"Hmm... We finished much earlier than expected. I remember there's a fireworks festival here today. How about we head back a little later?" Elysia checked the time.

Zhu Yufeng's pupils practically shook. Even his words came out stumbling. "E-Elysia, do you mean... you want to go watch that fireworks festival?"

Was it what he thought it was? Did Elysia mean she wanted to watch the fireworks with him? But if she wanted to go alone, wouldn't he be reading too much into it?

"Then... you go ahead. I'll wait by the transport aircraft for the return trip and write the mission report while I'm at it," Zhu Yufeng said.

That should be fine, right?

Elysia puffed out her cheeks slightly. "Feng, don't be a blockhead like Kevin. I mean, you and I are going to watch the fireworks together."

Well, this was awkward...

"But..." Zhu Yufeng hesitated. He didn't think he and Elysia were especially close yet. Going to a fireworks festival alone with her like this—wouldn't that be... easy to misunderstand?

"Are you really going to turn down an invitation from a girl as dazzling as a blooming flower?" Elysia asked, hands on her hips.

Zhu Yufeng took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "All right. I'll store this Honkai Beast core by the transport aircraft first, and sort things out with headquarters while I'm there."

"Then I'll leave it to you~" Elysia said with a smile. "As for me, I'll find a suitable viewing spot~ Don't worry, I definitely won't disappoint you~"

"Ah... oh... right. I trust your taste." Zhu Yufeng nodded, but after meeting Elysia's clear eyes for only a few seconds, he lowered his head and hurried away.

Elysia smiled as she watched Zhu Yufeng's retreating figure. "Feng is still so easily embarrassed~ But when you're talking to a girl, you really should look her in the eyes. All right, I should hurry up too and find a good viewing spot~"

Before leaving, she glanced once more in the direction Zhu Yufeng had gone.

Still... even if he's shy now, a boy like Feng will definitely make his future lover very happy, won't he?

Elsewhere, Zhu Yufeng had walked quite a distance before turning back toward Elysia. He gently set down the container holding the Honkai Beast core, then braced both hands against the wall and knocked his forehead against it a few times.

"What the hell are you doing, Zhu Yufeng?" he muttered, resting his head against the wall. "How could she possibly feel that way about you? What do you have over Kevin? And look at the way you stammer when you talk... She must think it's hilarious... No, Elysia probably wouldn't think that way... She couldn't possibly have feelings for anyone, either, right?"

After taking several deep breaths, he looked at the container on the ground and sighed. "I transmigrated too... so why am I one of those transmigrators without a system? At first, I thought it was some cliché where the system arrived late. But it's been so long already. I probably just don't have one..."

He picked up the container and headed toward the transport aircraft. Elysia's smile surfaced in his mind again, making him pause. With a self-mocking laugh, he said, "If I need a system to make Elysia like me, then I'd rather not have one."

Elysia probably wouldn't have any special feelings toward a single human being. But if she really did fall for someone, she would surely pour all of her feelings into it, wouldn't she? Yet if he had only managed it through a system, would someone like him deserve all of Elysia's love?

But... without a system, how could he ever shine as brightly as Kevin?

Besides, his feelings for Elysia didn't seem all that pure in the first place. It was probably more like love at first sight because of her looks.

"Fated never to be... Hah. Maybe we were never meant to have any fate at all."

Half an hour later, after arranging everything, Zhu Yufeng followed the location Elysia had sent him and found her.

It was a high-rise building, and Elysia was on its roof.

"You're here, Feng~" Elysia waved at Zhu Yufeng. "What do you think of the place I picked? The fireworks festival is over there, and this is the best viewing spot~"

Zhu Yufeng looked toward the festival grounds Elysia had indicated and nodded. Indeed. Unless you're actually at the festival, this is the best place to watch from.

He looked at Elysia again. She was leaning over the railing, and after giving it some thought, he decided he still couldn't stand too close to her. So he stayed a little farther away, folding his arms as he leaned against the wall and watched the festival below.

The first firework bloomed beneath the night sky, followed immediately by countless others bursting one after another overhead.

As Zhu Yufeng watched the fireworks fill the sky, he remembered that the last time he had seen such a grand fireworks festival was before he had transmigrated. He also remembered how much he had loved fireworks as a child. Every holiday, the first thing he would ask his family was, "Can we set off fireworks today?"

"But... that's impossible for me now, isn't it?" He shook his head with a bitter smile, then looked toward Elysia. In her eyes, he saw a sky full of brilliant stars.

"Feng, do you like fireworks?" Elysia suddenly asked, startling Zhu Yufeng. He thought she had caught him sneaking glances at her.

Yet she remained focused on the fireworks filling the sky.

"Of course I do." Zhu Yufeng guiltily shifted his gaze back to the heavens. "Even though I know they're a fleeting kind of beauty, when they bloom... I really want time to remain forever in that moment."

Elysia smiled softly. "But a human life is much the same, isn't it? Compared to endless time, compared to this vast universe, a person's life is just as fleeting as these fireworks... If the day comes when I must leave, I hope my final curtain can be like fireworks too—grand and beautiful."

The Thirteen Flame-Chasers' finale in the Elysian Realm had indeed been like fireworks—grand and beautiful. But your finale... should have been the Previous Civilization's most beautiful firework display, yet there were only four witnesses...

Zhu Yufeng felt a trace of sorrow for the fate Elysia would face in the future. Once, he had been a reader of this story, lamenting and grieving for its protagonist's ending. Now, he was about to become someone who experienced it...

What are you thinking? Without a system, it's hard to say whether you can even live until then! He immediately poured cold water over himself.

He looked at Elysia, hesitated, then spoke from the heart. "If it were you, I believe that even if the stars shone brilliantly, even if a hundred flowers bloomed across the night sky, you would still be the most dazzling firework among them."

Elysia turned toward him in slight surprise and found that the young man was looking at her too. But after only a few seconds of eye contact, he shifted his gaze back toward the sky.

"Feng, those words... are a little unfair to a girl," she said softly. "And when you speak to a girl, you should look into her eyes. Otherwise, I might think you're lying to me~"

Zhu Yufeng immediately looked back at her. Though he was still somewhat embarrassed, his tone was exceptionally firm. "I would never lie to you. That's simply what I sincerely believe."

Why would he lie to Elysia? Or rather, how could he tolerate Elysia thinking that he was lying to her?

It was a matter of principle. He could not run from it.

Elysia looked at her reflection in Zhu Yufeng's obsidian-like eyes. This time, she saw no panic at all. Though the young man was still a little shy, his eyes were filled with sincerity.

This time, it was Elysia's turn to become embarrassed. She looked away and said, "Thank you, Feng. I'm very happy to receive such praise from you~"

As long as you're happy. Zhu Yufeng thought.

"I didn't expect you to be the one praising me in the end. I originally suggested we watch fireworks together because I thought it might remind you of your old life and cheer you up a little," Elysia said.

"Huh?" Zhu Yufeng was surprised. "It was... for me?"

"Of course. You're from Shenzhou, aren't you?" Elysia looked at Zhu Yufeng. "In the days since you joined my squad, I noticed that you tend to keep to yourself. I know your family and friends all passed away in that Honkai disaster. Sometimes, I've seen you staring blankly toward the residential area. I also heard that Shenzhou has a tradition of setting off fireworks, so I thought that taking you to see them might help you remember the good times from the past and continue forward with a more positive outlook. Everyone is here. We're all your companions, and on the rest of your journey through life, we'll walk on with you."

"Elysia, so that's why you..." Zhu Yufeng's nose stung. He drew a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He absolutely could not embarrass himself in front of Elysia.

So... Elysia had been paying this much attention to him too... Honestly... no wonder Mobius could never do anything about her. With a girl like this, who could bear to hurt her?

He made up his mind. Whoever dared hurt Elysia, he would tear that person apart with his bare hands to vent his anger. If his hands broke, he would use his legs. If his legs broke, he would bite them!

"Thank you..." he said.

Elysia clasped her hands behind her back and gave him a gentle smile, then raised her head toward the starry sky where fireworks bloomed. "Next time, let's come watch fireworks together again, all right?"

"...All right."

"Ely, Ely!" Eden's voice jolted Elysia out of her memories. "You were spacing out. Did you... remember something?"

Elysia looked around at Vill-V, Aponia, and Eden, all watching her with concern.

"Yes. I remembered something from a very, very long time ago." Elysia lowered her head to look at the fireworks she had prepared. "I remember that Feng and I promised each other back then that we would watch fireworks together again..."

Her expression became somewhat lost as she grasped Eden's hand and asked, "He... will come, right?"

"He will definitely come. He definitely will. After all, he once cared about you more than anyone..." Eden held Elysia's hand. She could only comfort her dear friend this way; she could think of no other useful words.

Would he come?

Even Eden was unsure. Before coming here, Feng had actually sought her out and asked whether she had received an invitation. After receiving a negative answer, he had left.

She could not guess at all what he had been thinking then.

"He won't come. How could he possibly forgive Elysia?" Evil sneered within Vill-V's mind.

After a while, the four women saw a figure walking toward them with his back straight. It was Kevin.

Elysia's gaze fell on the invitation in Kevin's hand, the one she had personally delivered. In that instant, it felt as though her heart had stopped beating.

Eden asked the question for her. "Feng... didn't come?"

"He has something more important to do." Kevin held the invitation out before Elysia. "He asked me to return this to you, and to pass along a message: 'Those who attended did so because they believed in Elysia, and those who left refused the campaign because they believed in Elysia.' He has always believed in you."

Elysia reached out and took the invitation from Kevin's hand. It had been preserved perfectly, as though it had never even been opened.

Deep within her heart, she heard the sound of a girl crying.

Fire Moth headquarters.

The silver-haired young man stood before a window, gazing at the distant night sky as memories that had not faded even after all these years resurfaced in his mind.

"By now, she should have met Kevin." he thought. "I remember that before Kevin went over, she set off fireworks with Eden and the others? Back then... I made the same promise with her... But in the end, it was nothing more than my own wishful thinking."

He had once considered returning every gift Elysia had given him over the years. But... those were gifts Elysia had given him... So in the end, he did not do it.

He had once thought of saying this to Elysia: "Everything you gave me, I'm returning to you, including the life you saved... I'm returning that to you too..."

He could not save Elysia anyway, but he would use this life to carve a path forward for Kevin and the others.

But saying that would have been far too willful. After all, Elysia had done nothing wrong, and his words would sound like an accusation no matter how he put them.

"Goodbye, Elysia... Goodbye, Flawless Person."